The light-screen shifted, and the tone of the narration changed—no longer focused on men, but on roads. On fabric. On trade that flowed like blood through the body of empires.
[Around 200 B.C., a type of fabric from the East appeared in the markets of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom in Central Asia.]
The image shimmered: bustling markets under a merciless sun.
[This fabric was white, soft yet resilient, resistant to moisture, and immune to rot from sweat. In the scorching climate of Bactria, it was the perfect summer material—and it caused an immediate sensation.]
Even from the cold hall of Gong'an, one could almost feel the heat of that distant land.
[In 139 B.C., Zhang Qian, the pioneer of the Silk Road, journeyed westward and discovered this fabric. He was shocked. "Isn't this the Cuan cloth of our Great Han?" How had it traveled so far?]
A murmur passed through the hall.
[Thus, the 'Ancient Southwest Silk Road' entered the vision of Emperor Wu of Han. To seize control of this route, Emperor Wu launched a decade-long war against the tribes of the Southwest.]
[But wealth moves the heart. Despite Emperor Wu's armies beheading hundreds of thousands, the tribal leaders fought to the death. Control of the trade route meant life itself.]
[It was not until 69 A.D., when the Ailao people surrendered to the Eastern Han, that the route—from Shu through Burma and India, all the way to Bactria—was fully opened.]
The hall remained silent.
[Yet prosperity never lasts forever. With the chaos at the end of the Han dynasty, local tribes seized the opportunity to reclaim the route.]
[Thus, when the Chancellor marched into Nanzhong, he was not merely suppressing rebellious lords—he was reclaiming the artery of an ancient trade civilization.]
The screen dimmed.
"Wealth moves the heart…"
The phrase lingered like incense smoke.
Zhang Fei frowned deeply. "Emperor Wu killed hundreds of thousands, and they still wouldn't submit? Can money really make people so unafraid of death?"
Guan Yu stroked his beard. Zhao Yun met his gaze. These were not the most terrifying enemies—but they were the most stubborn. People who feared loss more than death were almost impossible to intimidate.
Pang Tong, however, had already seen through the fog. His eyes flicked toward Zhuge Liang.
"So that's it," he said quietly. "The Silk Official wasn't only for Wei and Wu. It was aimed at Nanzhong from the very beginning."
There were no coincidences where Kongming was concerned.
Mi Zhu nodded slowly, the instincts of a merchant awakening. "If Shu silk flows west and south, exchanged for gold, gems, and rare goods, the profits multiply endlessly. Control silk, control the route—and every tribe, every local lord, must eventually bow their head for a share."
The light-screen responded as if in agreement.
[Light-screen]
[After the rebellion was quelled, the true challenge began: governance. On this matter, the Chancellor was meticulous to the extreme.]
[His guiding principle was autonomy—'No transporting grain. No stationing troops. Let the Southern people govern the South.']
[To put it bluntly: he was saving money.]
A ripple of surprise passed through the hall.
[This was planned even before the campaign began. The Chancellor's deputy, Li Hui, was a native of Nanzhong. After the war, his prestige among the locals allowed him to assume the position of Governor of Jianning smoothly.]
[Furthermore, the Chancellor employed a masterful tactic: 'borrowing a chicken to lay an egg.']
[Nanzhong was a mixture of Han settlers and tribal peoples. The tribes were fierce and difficult to manage. The Chancellor persuaded the Han lords to use their own gold and silver to hire the tribesmen as private troops.]
[He promised hereditary official titles to those who recruited enough soldiers.]
[Later, the elite among these barbarian troops were transferred north to Shu, forming the renowned 'Wudang Flying Army.']
[The elderly and weak were returned to the local lords.]
[Thus, without spending a single coin from Shu's treasury, the Chancellor created an elite force feared across the realm.]
Liu Bei's emotions churned.
When he had earlier seen General Zhang Wei and the Wudang Flying Army perish at the Martial Temple, guilt had weighed heavily on his heart. Now, knowing the origins of that army—how carefully it had been forged to spare Shu's exhausted people—his feelings grew complex.
Every calculation had been made to reduce the burden on Shu.
Every strategy bent toward strengthening the Han.
"If only I hadn't been so headstrong at Yiling…"
The thought gnawed at him.
Zhuge Liang laughed softly, as if sensing his Lord's regret. "Didn't the screen say that if not for Mi Fang's betrayal, General Guan would have already taken Xuchang? Why linger on what followed?"
The hall burst into laughter.
Mi Zhu coughed awkwardly—and silently assigned his brother a future posting in General Zhang Fei's camp at Linju.
[Light-screen]
[With such benefits, one might ask: were the Nanzhong lords truly so noble?]
[They would laugh and say, 'By following the Chancellor, we earn more than ever before!']
[Binding interests together is a tactic that never fails.]
[By making Shu silk a state monopoly, the Chancellor held the lifeblood of the local clans. Their survival depended on the Ancient Silk Road—and Shu silk was the most sought-after commodity on that road.]
[Thus, the Southern Campaign was also the establishment of a profit-sharing system for exports.]
[The Chancellor even fulfilled the 'benefits reaching the South Seas' clause of the Longzhong Plan. Through Burma and into Southeast Asia, Shu fabrics sold extraordinarily well.]
Pang Tong counted on his fingers, disbelief written on his face. "So… half a year. In half a year, you suppressed the rebellion, stabilized governance, reopened ancient trade routes, and created a legendary army."
He looked at Kongming as if staring at something inhuman.
"It was merely a victory of temple calculations," Kongming replied mildly. "The South had been in rebellion for three years. The rebels were exhausted and gained nothing. The Chancellor of that history thought about this every day. A swift victory was inevitable."
Pang Tong did not argue.
Even if their positions were exchanged, he knew—he could not have done this.
[Light-screen]
[Viewed through the lens of trade, an entry in the Biography of Huo Yi becomes illuminating:]
['The barbarians of Yongchang relied on terrain to defy authority… a small army suppressed them… destroyed their settlements, and the borders became peaceful.']
[At first glance, this seems excessive. But examine the map—Yongchang was a key node on the trade route.]
[Those barbarians were erecting illegal tolls. Huo Yi's task was simple: keep the road open.]
[The Chancellor bound all interests together flawlessly.]
[Yet during the Northern Expedition, the South still rebelled. Why?]
[Because the Han clans of Nanzhong grew fat on trade profits and gradually squeezed the barbarians out.]
[This was the inherent flaw of 'Southern people ruling the South.']
[Between Han clans and tribal peoples, one side would inevitably be favored.]
Liu Bei sighed. "Even the sweetest melon has a bitter stem. Why demand perfection from governance?"
Pang Tong nodded. "Let the Han rule, and the South remains Han land. Let the barbarians rule…"
"But—" Ma Liang spoke softly, conviction in his eyes. "The screen said people still honor him as an ancestor sixteen hundred years later. They guard borders in his name."
He looked at Zhuge Liang.
"The Chancellor's strategy for Nanzhong… hasn't ended yet."